1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air mattress and particularly to an air mattress that has air pouches to generate up and down movements alternately and has side pouches to give a patient lying thereon an inclined sideways exercises and alters patient""s body areas that are subject to pressure to prevent the patient from inflicting illness caused by impeded blood circulation under prolonged lopsided pressure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Air mattresses are commonly used medical instruments to prevent patients who have to lie on beds for a prolonged period of time from suffering bedsores. Conventional air mattresses can be grouped to low-pressure air mattresses and alternate air mattresses. A low-pressure air mattress generally includes a single or a plurality of air pouches, which are filled with low-pressure air. A patient""s body can be supported by the air pressure without directly contact the hard bedstead below the air pouches. The alternate air mattress generally includes a plurality of air pouches and has an air pump to inflate and deflate the air pouches alternately.
As the alternate air mattress may contact or not contact patient""s body in an alternate manner by inflating or deflating the air pouches, it is more effective to prevent patients from inflicting bedsores than air mattresses that do not have inflatable and adjustable air pouches. However, patients still lie on the alternate air mattresses in a static condition. It is not desirable to patients who are confined to beds for a long period of time.
It is well known that proper exercises can improve blood circulation of human body. In order to prevent patients from inflicting bedsores when confined to beds for a long period of time, Applicant has previously disclosed an alternate and inflatable air mattress, which consists of a plurality of air pouch sets that are inflatable alternately. Each air pouch set has an outer first air pouch, which contains an inner second air pouch. The first air pouch connects to the second air pouch. The first air pouch has a partitioned air chamber A and an air chamber B. Air ducts are provided on the air chambers for air intake and discharge. The second air pouch has an air duct which has a leak-proof element to receive air but prevent air from discharging so that air contained in the second air pouch is maintained in a saturated condition. In the event that the first air pouch is deflated due to cutoff of electric power or machine malfunction, the second air pouch can provide support to prevent the patient from directly contact the hard bedstead or suffering from discomfort.
The alternate and inflatable air mattress set forth above can reduce pressure on patient""s blood circulation. In addition, the air pouches may be inflated alternately to lift patient""s body to stimulate blood circulation. However, it cannot help patient to roll sideways or reduce sideway pressure. The stimulation effect for improving blood circulation is limited.
There is another type of air mattress being proposed in prior art that can help patients to roll sideways. The air mattress mainly includes a first air valve, a second air valve and an air mattress. The air mattress consists of a plurality of air pouches A, B, C, D and E. The air pouch A and air pouch B are located on one side, and the air pouch C and air pouch D are located on another side. The air pouches A and B are spaced from each other, and the air pouches C and D also are spaced from each other. The air pouches E are located on two sides of the air pouches A, B, C and D, and are higher than the air pouches A, B, C and D.
In addition, the air mattress has air piping connecting to a main intake air duct for linking to an external air pump. There is a central discharge air duct connecting to the air pouches E through the air piping. There is also an air duct A connecting to the air pouch A through the air piping, and a lower air duct A connecting to a first air duct through the air piping. There is an air duct B connecting to the air pouch D through the air piping. The air duct B also connects to a third air duct of a third air chamber through the air piping. The second air chamber has a second air duct connecting to the air pouch C through the air piping. The fourth air chamber has a fourth air duct connecting to the air pouch B through the piping. Thus users may turn rotary caps of the first air valve and the second air valve to inflate the air mattress completely, inflate the air mattress on one side, inflate one side alternately or intermittently, or inflate two sides alternately and intermittently.
While the air mattress mentioned above can generate up and down movements alternately through the air pouches A, B, C, and D to help patients rolling sideways and stimulate blood circulation, it cannot simultaneously help patients to roll sideways and generate alternate up and down movements. There are stillrooms for improvement.
The primary object of the invention is to provide an improved air mattress that has side pouches under two sides of air pouches so that a patient""s body may have alternate up and down movements through the air pouches synchronously when doing sideway exercises thereby to get improved blood circulation.
More specifically, the air mattress of the invention includes a plurality of air pouches and side pouches. The side pouches are located longitudinally under the transverse air pouches. When the side pouches are inflated alternately, two sides of the air mattress may be lifted or lowered alternately to give patient sideway exercises and to alleviate the patient from undue blood circulation pressure.
The foregoing, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.